


Impressions

by allthechicanery



Category: Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII, Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Gen, Pre-Canon, Quadruple Drabble
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-09-12
Updated: 2011-09-12
Packaged: 2017-10-23 16:45:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/252546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allthechicanery/pseuds/allthechicanery
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>ShinRa's Department Heads introduce themselves to a young Rufus.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Impressions

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CrimsonSun](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=CrimsonSun).



The huge black boot landed heavily, even before its owner committed to the step and his full (and considerable) weight ground downward. Nine-year-old Rufus swallowed a yelp, pinwheeling, then stumbled back when the bushy man in green finally stepped off his toes.

“Goodness!” A shorter, softer, less hairy man followed the first, stopping in front of the boy. “Oh, hehe, that must have hurt! Ah. Oh. Here.” A moment’s fishing yielded a lollipop. It had melted once or twice, so was now misshapen and crinkled. Lint clung to the wrapper. The man looked like he hoped Rufus wouldn’t want it.

“Palmer, move your fat ass.” A woman’s voice cracked the tableau. Palmer scuttled off, taking his lollipop with him, and Rufus looked up. A woman all in clingy red peered back, blue eyes sharp, one golden brow arched. “Who stepped on the kid?”

“Heidegger.” Veld spoke from behind Rufus’s father, low voice neutral. The red lady smirked like he’d made a joke, and the man in the boots looked back for the first time, with the air of one inspecting a lump in the rearview mirror.

“Prognosis looks good,” he growled. The President chuckled, gesturing Rufus forward. Heidegger raised his voice as the boy stepped around him to his father. “Ain’t that right, Doc?”

Shuffling into the room was a hunched, sallow man, his eyes hidden by the glare across his glasses. Rufus’s skin itched like he was being watched, but the newcomer said nothing, only found his seat.

“Ah, Lazard.” The President pressed out a smile at the blond man in the doorway, who offered a cool nod in return. Rufus perked up. The director of SOLDIER! “I want to introduce you all to my son.” Heads turned back to Rufus, who tried excitedly to catch Lazard’s eye. Lazard was the only one not looking. “Re-introduce, for some of you, but he was what, three? So if—”

A soft hiss from the automatic door announced the straggler — messy black hair over a walking stack of rolled-up blueprints. Someone at the table groaned.

“Sorry I’m late!” The blueprints tumbled into an empty chair, revealing a man with a bright, nervous grin. “Sorry! You must be Rufus!” Suddenly he was shaking Rufus’s hand enthusiastically. “Reeve Tuesti, Urban Development.” Up close Reeve looked tired, and smelled like cheap cigarettes.

With a sinking feeling, nine-year-old Rufus had his first epiphany. _They’re all lunatics._

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted in response to [a question](http://ask-rshinra.tumblr.com/post/10072186980/good-to-see-you-rufus-tell-us-what-you-think-of-the) from [Crimson Sun](http://www.crimson-sun.tumblr.com) on my [Ask Rufus ShinRa](http://www.ask-rshinra.tumblr.com) blog.
> 
> I maintain that introducing nine characters in 400 words is a daunting task.


End file.
